Michelle Obama Says “Never Say Never” to Botox

Michelle Obama Says
Michelle Obama Says

The other day my neighbor stopped by my house, and while we were chitchatting about this and that, I noticed that she kept on looking up at my forehead. I thought it was at first odd or maybe I might have had a blemish that I missed in the mirror. After a good fifteen minutes or so, she blatantly asked me, "Joanna, have you noticed anything different about me?" I looked at her eyebrows, her eyelashes, the color of her lip gloss and so forth but really couldn't point anything out. All I could mumble out was an "Ummm…" until she said:

"I got Botox done!"

She then proceeded to show me her wrinkle-less forehead and pointed out that she no longer had creases near her mouth. She showed me a before picture on her iPhone, but to be honest with you, I didn't notice and wouldn't have noticed a thing if she hadn't voluntarily pointed it out to me. Being only three years older than me (I'm 33), I thought it was rather odd to spend so much money on a little facial procedure that only lasts a few months, tops.

Related: 6 essential steps to a healthy complexion

Now, while I don't mind getting a facial done once in awhile, I'm not one to fall into the Botox category. Being a work-at-home mom, I rarely wear makeup and when I do, it's just eyeliner and mascara. Needless to say, needles frighten me, and I'm not in the type of business where I need to rely on my looks to get the job done.

But as far as my neighbor and other women who have considered going under the knife, to each their own, right?

Our first lady Michelle Obama - who turns 50 later this week - has recently spoken out about plastic surgery and Botox, saying it's something she wouldn't rule out in the future.

"Women should have the freedom to do whatever they need to do to feel good about themselves," the first lady told People magazine in an interview hitting newsstands Friday, her birthday. "Right now, I don't imagine that I would go that route, but I've also learned to never say never."

While I understand Mrs. Obama's stance on having women choose what they want to do to their faces, what does this say to our daughters? It would be highly hypocritical of me to give my daughter the: "No, you don't need to wear makeup because you are beautiful just the way you are" speech while injecting my own wrinkles with Botox. That's hardly the way to convince young girls that makeup should be applied lightly and as an enhancement to your features rather than as a mask of foundation.

As far as Botox and cosmetic surgery are concerned, why get in mother nature's way when it comes to the natural aging process? As Julia Roberts has said: "I have three children who should know what emotion I'm feeling at the exact moment I'm feeling it." And I think I agree with her 100 percent on that one, as well.

There are so many actresses in Hollywood, such as Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, and Julia, that have said no to plastic surgery that I consider to be beautiful, intelligent and very classy women. We could all stand to look up to these women when it comes to their healthy self-image.

How about we just say no to the needle and yes to loving ourselves the way we are - forehead lines and all.
-By Joanna Mazewski

For 10 reasons NOT to get plastic surgery, visit Babble!

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